Palmer pressing under center

Palmer pressing under center

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- In good times, quarterbacks get too much credit.In bad, too much of the blame.Sunday, after the Raiders were blown out 46-16 by the unbeaten, untied and defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers, Carson Palmer was wearing the mask of the latter. And wearing it, ahem, well."I put us in a position," he said, "not to win. Turn the ball over like I did, giving them a short field and not taking advantage of opportunities is what cost us the game."I did not give us a chance to win. I did not play well enough. I made way too many mistakes."The four interceptions he threw tied a career worst he set against Arizona on Nov. 18, 2007. And passer rating-wise, the 42.4 represented the worst start of his young Raiders career, since he was acquired from Cincinnati on Oct. 18.
"I'm disappointed in the four picks, and I told him so," said Raiders coach Hue Jackson. "And again, I think you have somebody who's pressing, trying to make plays for a football team, and that's not what he needs to do. He's got to take care of the ball, and obviously we've got to go back and take a look at them all."But what I felt is that there's times that we made some ill-advised throws and we've got to do a better job of taking care of the ball, and he knows that. And we'll fix those things and keep moving forward."Three of Palmer's interceptions came in the first half, with the first two resulting in Packers touchdowns and the third coming in the end zone with less than a minute to go until halftime.His first pick came in Green Bay territory, as Palmer was flushed from the pocket and as he rolled right, he tried to thread the needle to Darrius Heyward-Bey. Instead, he threw it right into the chest of linebacker D.J. Smith."I shouldn't have thrown (the ball)," Palmer said. "I should have have taken off and run."One official snap later, Ryan Grant went 47 yards for the touchdown and the 7-0 lead.Then, with less than eight minutes to play in the half, and the Packers leading 24-0, Palmer tried to hit Heyward-Bey on a slant on the right. But Charles Woodson jumped the route and got his seventh interception of the season."A little miscommunication between myself and the receiver," Palmer said.Four plays later, Grant ran up the middle for a 6-yard score and the 31-0 lead."That's what happens, you turn the ball over and you give those guys more opportunities than they should have, they're going to take advantage of them," Palmer said, "score like they did."Palmer tried to hit Kevin Boss in the back of the end zone but was victimized by a one-handed grab from linebacker Robert Francois with 40 seconds left in the half.His fourth pick came with less than two minutes to play, when he was hit as he released and the ball fluttered into the waiting arms of cornerback Sam Shields.Overall, Palmer completed 24 of 42 attempts for 245 yards with a touchdown. But even he agreed with Jackson's assessment that he was pressing."Yeah, I'm going to look at the film, but I just need to be more patient, take what they give me and not try to score 14 points on one drive," said Palmer, who now has thrown nine TDs with 13 INTs. "Take it one play at a time. Take the shot if it's there and if not, live for the next down. And I didn't do that."

Oakland, Alameda County to vote on possible Raiders stadium term sheet next week

Oakland, Alameda County to vote on possible Raiders stadium term sheet next week

The Oakland City Council and Alameda County Supervisors will soon hold a public hearing and vote on a term sheet for a stadium proposal designed to keep the Raiders in Oakland, the City of Oakland announced on Friday afternoon.

These actions will occur on Dec. 13, as local authorities attempt to expedite a stadium plan that will prevent the Raiders from being approved to relocate to the Las Vegas market.

Oakland and Alameda County have paired with Fortress Investment Group to create a stadium funding plan that does not include taxpayer dollars. The public will contribute to infrastructure improvements, but stadium construction will come from private sources.

The private investment group is fronted by former NFL players Ronnie Lott and Rodney Peete.

Details of this stadium framework were released by the city of Oakland on Friday afternoon.

The term sheet calls for 105 acres of Coliseum site land for a 55,000-seat football stadium and 7,000 parking spaces, with another 15 acres reserved for an Athletics ballpark. If all goes according to plan, the term sheet set a target date for the stadium to be ready by the 2021-22 season. The plan also accounts for mixed use areas on the site that could be used for ancillary development.

The financial framework calls $200 million in public funds, generated through private and public bonds, would be used for infrastructure improvements. The Coliseum site land was valued at $150 million, and would be transferred to the Lott group. It is uncertain how the public will recoup that land value.

The Lott Group would invest $400 million dollars, and the Raiders and the NFL would put in $500 million combined, with $200 million from the league's stadium loan program. The Raiders could also raise funds from the sale of personal seat lisences, a common funding tool used in new stadiums throughout the league.

The stadium project plus infrastructure improvements is estimated at $1.3 billion. The Lott Group would be responsible for financial overruns.

City and county votes are the next step in creating a plan enticing enough to the NFL that it would pump the brakes on allowing the Raiders to move to Las Vegas.

That is Raiders owner Mark Davis’ stated desire. He has not negotiated with local public officials in some time, pouring focus into a Las Vegas stadium plan that has already received $750 million in public subsidy to construct if the Raiders are given the green light to move.

There are several complications associated with this deal, most notably that Davis wants no part in it. The NFL is reportedly intrigued by Oakland’s market potential, and generally prefers that teams remain in their home markets.

Oakland and Alameda County will vote on whether to continue working on this term sheet and present it to the NFL. The league meets on Wednesday to discuss relocation, and East Bay officials want to show they have a viable alternative to keep the Raiders in Oakland.

Raiders snap count: Nate Allen plays every defensive down

Raiders snap count: Nate Allen plays every defensive down

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Raiders left guard Kelechi Osemele spent Thursday morning in a Kansas City hospital with an undisclosed illness, and was unfit to play that night against Kansas City.

That was a big blow to the Silver and Black, who played a pivotal game against the Chiefs without their tone-setter up front.

The Raiders have depth along the offensive line, giving position coach Mike Tice options to fill Osemele’s spot. He took an unconventional route, having rookie Vadal Alexander take most of the snaps for Osemele.

Alexander, who has played tackle as a professional but spent most of his collegiate career at guard, took 66 snaps at left guard. That information comes from the official NFL game book.

Jon Feliciano, typically the first guard off the bench, rotated series with Alexander early on. That apparently stopped as the game progressed, with Feliciano taking just nine offensive snaps.

Alexander allowed four quarterback pressures including a hit on Derek Carr.

Safety Nate Allen played all 55 defensive snaps at strong safety for Karl Joseph, who missed Thursday’s game with a toe injury.

Denico Autry and Dan Williams also saw more action with Darius Latham and Stacy McGee out with ankle injuries.

The Raiders played out of the shotgun and pistol formations to protect Carr’s ailing right pinky, which generally kept a third receiver on the field. Seth Roberts played 71 snaps on Thursday, and didn’t do much with them. He had just two catches for 12 yards on nine targets. He also had two drops.